This important event for people with learning difficulties, all NHS services (primary care, secondary care as well as specialist learning disability services), self-advocates, carers, commissioners, independent and voluntary sector providers etc., will take place between from10:00am until 3:30pm on Thursday 10^th December 2009 at Billingshurst Village Hall.

The Strategic Health Authority has asked for a Health Self Assessment for Learning Difficulties to be carried out.  This is the first year this has had to be done and it will become an annual event.  This is a really exciting opportunity to make sure that health services are provided that meet the needs of people with a learning disability.

What’s it all about?         

The event is to talk about work to make health services in West Sussex better for people with learning difficulties and how other people can help. All the different people and groups who work in health services have said they will work together to make services better for people with Learning Difficulties.

At the event the 4 big health targets will be discussed, a checklist will be look at to see how good our local health services are – or where they need to get better, and ideas will be shared and plans made to make things work better.    

These ideas and plans will be used to decide how the money is spent and how services work

The 4 big health targets to be checked are:       

1. Make sure campus homes are closed by 2010 and that people who have lived in long stay hospitals have all moved

2. Make sure people with learning difficulties can use the same health services, and get as good a service, as everyone else

3. Make sure people are safe in our health services and that the service is learning from mistakes in the past

4. Make sure that what ‘Valuing People Now’ says will help people’s health

People with learning difficulties and their families are being invited to the Big Health Day, as well as health staff and managers.

What people say at the Big Health Day and the plans for making health services better will be agreed by the West Sussex Primary Care Trust (PCT) Chief Executive and the Learning Difficulties Partnership Board Chair(s) and then sent to the Strategic Health Authority.

The organisers need to know who wants to attend the Big Health Day, so if you or someone in your family has learning difficulties, or you are involved in providing health services and want to help ensure they are fully available for everybody including those with learning difficulties call: Lynsay Miles 01903 839060 or email lynsay.miles@westsussex.gov.uk  to book your place !!

The Learning Difficulty Partnership Board yesterday received a presentation from the Harm Reduction Team.

The Team is carrying out excellent work with Victim Support to provide the Hate Incident Support Service in West Sussex. Victim Support: -

*help people who suffer crime

*support witnesses attending court

*provide emotional & practical support and

*a confidential, non-judgemental & free service.

A hate incident might involve: -

*shouting names relating to your disability, race or sexual orientation

*damaging your property

*threatening you or picking on you over a long period of time or

*physical assault such as hitting, punching or spitting at you.

You do not have to put up with this

If you think any of this has happened to you because of your disability, race, sexual orientation or even if you are just a senior citizen: -

*tell someone – don’t suffer in silence

*fill in a report form

*Victim Support will help

Victim Support: -

*will listen to you

*won’t take action unless you want them to

*won’t tell anyone else unless the incident is very serious and might mean you or someone else could be harmed

*will help you through it so you don’t feel scared or worried.

This part of the Horsham District is very safe compared with other parts of the Country, but hate incidents can happen in the most unlikely places and the victims often do not report it. If you or anyone you know is suffering hate in silence please report it – you or the people you know do not have to put up with it.

You can contact the Harm Reduction Team on 0845 075 1021 between 8am and 8pm, or you can report online via the website – www.westsussex.gov.uk/harmreduction

I have also included this website on my links to the left under Learning Difficulties.

Following emails and a meeting with the Local Highway Manager action has now been promised to Derek Deedman in these areas: -

Castle Lane, section between Goring Road and the A283, Steyning Bypass

This short section of lane is now included in the surface dressing programme for this year and will be done sometime this summer. It has already been patched ready for this.

Peppers Lane, Ashurst

This rural lane in Ashurst which is often used a a rat-run has been inspected and a trial of a commercial process will take place along a short length of it soon to see if it is the right treatment for the edge erosion problem. If it is the Highways Office will draw up a programme.

St Cuthmans Road, Steyning

The ‘grass’ verges in this narrow road have now been inspected and identified for some verge hardening later in the year. So by the time winter returns the muddy state of these verges should be a memory of the past!

A283 Steyning Bypass west of Canons Way junction

The trees growing in the ditch, which are obscuring the view of fast traffic on the Bypass heading south for traffic wishing to turn right out of the Canons Way junction, will now be cut back to improve the safety for such emerging traffic.

High Street, Steyning - proposed 20 MPH Speed Limit

All the comments Derek Deedman has received regarding the proposed 20mph speed limit in Steyning and in particular the comments relating to ‘Ashburton’ have been recorded. Following a site visit by Highways Officers to investigate the exit from Ashburton, there is little that can be done at present to improve the situation. The Local Traffic Engineer commented that the speed of vehicles in both directions was quite low and in his opinion would not cause any issue to motorists trying to exit the driveway of Ashburton. He accepts, however that this might be different during the rush hour.

Speed data has been collected at this location and compliance with the speed limit is very good. The Local traffic Engineer considers that he will need to look at this particular problem when the 20mph limit is considered as an area of high concern and see if any form of traffic calming to address the problem can be incorporated within the proposed limit/zone.

The new website, www.thebigbridge.org is a website for people with learning disabilities, their families and carers, and social care professionals working in West Sussex.

www.thebigbridge.org offers practical, local information and signposting to services and support.

visit us…

People with learning disabilities Parents and carers

Professionals Job-seekers

join in…

we welcome feedback and offers of support, email us at hello@thebigbridge.co.uk

At a recent Policy & Resources Committee meeting members considered a report by Management Audit, requested by the Committee (at my suggestion), on whether the current level of compliance monitoring of Adults Services Transport and Home to School Transport Frameworks was sufficient.

The audit conclusion was that the current resource (one officer) is unable to monitor the operators (some 190 covering 577 routes) in line with the requirements of the Framework agreements. The report stated that the Council could be subject to detrimental reputational risk from a child (or indeed an adult) protection or health & safety incident relating to insufficient compliance monitoring.

At the Committee meeting I gave an example of this situation when before Christmas the school transport taxi carrying my elder son and a number of other children was involved in a head-on collision with another car on a very bendy and narrow road across the Downs. The route was unsuitable, and my wife and I had complained about the use of the road, but no action had been taken because there had been no previous accidents, and the compliance resource was only sufficient to be re-active to incidents.

The one staff resource is clearly unable to undertake pre-planned, targeted monitoring against the requirements of the Transport Framework.

The Committee expressed grave concern at the finding of the audit report and requested an urgent update report to the next meeting on 2 April on the action that the Director for Operations- Infrastructure will undertake in response to the audit report.

This is yet another example of the County Council’s failure to safeguard the many vulnerable elderly people and young people in its care for which it has rightly been given a low star rating by the Audit Commission. The Council is giving a high priority to addressing the general social care safeguarding concerns, and now needs to organise that in future it has sufficient staffing resources to ensure the elderly and vulnerable adults and children for whom it arranges transport are also safeguarded.

One of my roles as a County Councillor is to be a member of the West Sussex Learning Difficulties Partnership Board.

At the most recent meeting on Thursday 29 January a number of interesting matters were raised. These included: -

1. the Circles Network, which is a voluntary organisation working to support people with learning difficulties to be included in the community, has  set up a project called Families Forward. The project is for parents with learning difficulties to come together to share their ideas of good parenting, hear what works and make new friends with other parents with learning difficulties. One of the problems facing Liz Bates, who is the facilitator for the project, is contacting all these parents. Can you help? If you are a parent with learning difficulties, or know someone who us, please contact Liz on 01444 236 593 or  07920 727 267 or liz.bates@circlesnetwork.org.uk

2. The Fire & Rescue Service will carry out a free Home Fire Safety Check and fit free smoke alarms where needed. Most people will have hopefully already fitted their own smoke alarms, but if you need help in finding out what to do to make your home safe from fire, contact the West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service - Free Phone 0800 3286487.

3. A new website is being established to enable people with learning difficulties to access all the many services available to help them in the community. Called the ‘Big Bridge’ the website, www.bigbridge.org.uk it should soon be up and running.